Innehållsförteckning för March 2024 från The Field

PEOPLE who run big businesses and charities spend their time worrying. Worrying about the bottom line and about doing something that will turn their customers, shareholders or donors against them. It is actually quite rare for any company to do something so cataclysmic that it has an immediate impact on its future. That is why, 33 years after his infamous description of one of his jewellery chain’s products as “total crap”, Gerald Ratner is still synonymous with the massive business faux pas. However, the branding gurus now hold sway and almost anything that might upset anyone is considered a reputational risk. And risk, above all, is what keeps executives awake at night. This is an issue for hunting and shooting, which for decades have borne the ‘controversial’ label. Activists understand…

The complete removal of non-native American mink from British waters is “a realistic dream” after a groundbreaking trial by the Waterlife Recovery Trust (WRT) proved its feasibility. During the four-year trial, hundreds of smart cage traps, developed by the GWCT, were laid across almost 6,000sq km of East Anglia in a bid to rid the area of the invasive predators. The trial was deemed to be a success, with no evidence of mink reproduction being found during the 2023 breeding season. The mink has never been fully eradicated from any part of Britain. However, the sheer scale of this trial shows that a mink-free Britain is within reach, and that mink can potentially be removed from Europe too. Professor Tony Martin, chair of the WRT, said: “It’s now a race…

STAR BUY Set in 100 acres of pasture, woodland and parkland, Barbins Grange boasts extensive equestrian facilities. A private drive leads to the house in the centre of the estate. The five-bedroom property, which is not listed, extends to nearly 6,000sq ft, with the main reception rooms and bedrooms facing south. Upstairs, the master bedroom enjoys direct access to a large sun terrace. Barbins Grange has a leisure complex with a gym, sauna, sitting room and decked area, as well as a swimming pool. Equestrian amenities include a stable yard with seven stables, seven fenced paddocks, two outdoor arenas, a tack room, a feed store, a hay store and a two-bedroom groom’s flat. There is also a two-storey office with a cinema room and a three-bedroom guest cottage. Agent: Knight…

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WHEN Red Splash, a five-year-old chestnut with a white blaze whose name only rarely crops up these days in pub quizzes, won the inaugural Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1924, few people could have guessed how big the race would go on to become. Back then it was all about the Grand National. Indeed that first Gold Cup, one of the few weight-for-age non-handicap chases at the time, was very much regarded as a trial for Aintree, and the main talking point after that first running was less about Red Splash than Conjuror II’s head defeat in second that strengthened his position in the betting for Liverpool the following month. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the race, the wheel has turned. Even though the National, a handicap dating back…

IF YOU happen to be walking across Lambeth Bridge on a weekday morning and run into a smiling yellow labrador accompanied by a tall man in uniform, the chances are you’ve just met Jack, one of the British Army’s best recruits. His handler? Warrant Officer Class 1 Andrew ‘Vern’ Stokes, Garrison Sergeant Major, London District: the man responsible for military ceremonial state occasions and a Bafta award winner to boot. Jack, now five, has been coming to work with him all his life. Stokes has always had dogs but when in 2015 he was appointed to his current role, he wasn’t sure if the job would support having one at work. Fortunately, “it turned out that there were enough people to help if I had to nip out of my…

I LOVE a PG Wodehouse novel. The Code of the Woosters is a cracker, not least as the country house shenanigans are driven by two determined antique collectors fighting over an 18th-century, silver cow-creamer. Hence its somewhat tangential relevance to this column. Before you ask, Bertie W and I are equally uninspired by cow-creamers. However, his uncle and the unscrupulous Sir Watkyn Bassett will go to any lengths not only to possess this one, ‘a sinister, leering, Underworld sort of animal’, but to ensure that the other does not. It is a perceptive insight into the devious mentality of some collectors. After all, great comedy is usually rooted in reality, otherwise it risks becoming unbelievable. The serious ‘column’ point here is, put that creamer into auction and who knows how much…

SWEEPING up the mile-long driveway to Cromlix in the chauffeur-driven limousine that had been sent to collect me from Edinburgh Airport, I began to appreciate why it has been voted one of the UK’s best country house hotels. Originally built in 1874, Cromlix was once the home of the Eden family, a member of which was former Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden. His grandson Henry still owns the 2,000-acre estate that surrounds it but sold the house, and its 34 acres of grounds, to tennis star Andy Murray and his wife Kim in 2013. Situated in woodlands on the outskirts of Dunblane, close to where Murray grew up, this 15-bedroomed Victorian mansion was recently updated by the couple in a sympathetic refurbishment that combines country house sensibilities with an elegant…

IN 2022 I was delighted to be asked to judge at the World Cheese Awards. This event had originally been planned to take place in Kyiv but for obvious reasons it had to be relocated. Wales kindly offered to play host and so the panel of judges, along with more than 4,000 cheeses, headed to Newport instead. I’ll let you imagine how incredible a room filled with this number of cheeses looks and smells but what impressed me just as much was the large showcase of food and drink producers from Wales that were also exhibiting. Salt marsh lamb, beef, honey, game, beer, cider, perry, shellfish, whisky, tea and wine were all proudly being offered for us to taste. The variety was as exceptional as the quality. Then, of course,…

A SOAKING IN VENICE Five tourists fell into a freezing canal in Venice after failing to heed pleas to stop taking selfies and sit down. The gondolier had been guiding their vessel under a bridge near St Mark’s Square, a manoeuvre that requires the maximum balance of weight onboard. However, the tourists’ boat capsized when they were unable to resist standing up to photograph themselves. MAN PAYS DEERLY FOR ERROR A red stag at Wollaton Hall and Park, Nottingham attacked a man who ignored safety warnings in an attempt to stroke it. Bystanders stated that the wild animal had “had enough of being pestered” and lashed out. Not knowing what to do, the man grabbed the stag’s antlers and was rammed into the ground. Luckily, the man was able to…

Nurseries in Dorset and Hampshire are set to serve venison to children in a bid to tackle soaring deer numbers. Tops Day Nurseries, which oversees 32 nurseries, has recently introduced venison to its lunch menus following an initiative by Eat Wild. According to Pete Ttofis, Tops Day Nurseries’ catering manager, the 4,000 children will get their first taste of venison in meals that are already familiar to them, such as spaghetti bolognese. Leon Challis-Davies, Eat Wild’s culinary director, said: “The success of the Tops Nursery deal is starting to gain traction. We have had multiple calls and emails from other education sector businesses and beyond, all looking into how they can add wild meat to their menus.”…

Eating out RESERVATION THE ROYAL OAK AT WHATCOTE Where? Whatcote, Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire CV36 5EF What? A proper cosy, dog-friendly country pub dating back to the 12th century and thought to be one of the oldest in the UK. The Royal Oak possesses both a dartboard and a Michelin star, and specialises in seasonal produce, including a plethora of local game sourced from small estates all found within three miles of the pub. Look out for? Grey squirrel – shot at nearby Honington Hall – served as tortellini in its own consommé. The Royal Oak also offers a set five-course menu showcasing the best foraged and wild food. Everything from mallard to fallow deer could appear on the menu as the season progresses, with chef Richard Craven taking pride…

Write to: The Editor, The Field, Future Publishing PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR Email: field.secretary@futurenet.com LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE UNLEASHING A PLAN TO PROTECT HUNTING Charlie Pye-Smith’s article ‘It’s time to put up a proper fight’ [Comment, February issue] begs the question I put to another long-standing magazine to do with hunting some months ago that, to my knowledge, was not printed. I wonder in which direction they are heading. Having hunted and run horses in point-to-points for many years, I asked: “What is the plan?” My family and I, like countless others, marched to all points east and west, and eventually London, peacefully. But sadly to no avail, as politicians in the Labour Party were determined to ban our sport. There could well…

OLD MILL HOUSE ROCKFIELD, MONMOUTH, MONMOUTHSHIRE The Old Mill House is a late-17th-century country property. It comes with about 21/2 acres of land, including a mile of fishing on the River Monnow. There is a three-bedroom eco-lodge in the sale as well as a detached three-room workshop. The 11-bedroom house once provided rehearsal space for the Rockfield Studios, hosting many well-known bands and singers. Agent: Roscoe Rogers & Knight Tel: 01600 772929 Guide price: £1.95m TALLENTIRE HALL COCKERMOUTH, CUMBRIA A Grade II-listed manor house with a fortified tower, Tallentire Hall sits on the edge of the Lake District National Park. The property dates back to the 13th century, with 16th- and 19th-century additions, and comes with 11 acres, including landscaped gardens, woodland and a paddock, as well as a stable…

DON’T KNOW how to dizzy a pigeon? In need of some pointers to train your pointer? Got a cocker going crackers? Keep calm and get a gundog trainer. The world of working gundog training has never been more inclusive and accessible. You can choose the traditional route of sending your dog away to a residential training school and receive him perfectly polished at the beginning of next Season. Or you can grab a whistle and slip-lead, and you and the dog train together. In fact, these days most trainers would rather teach you and your dog at the same time. And it’s much more fun that way. You can join in with groups or go on training holidays in Britain’s beauty spots. You can even test yourself and your faithful…

WHEN sportspeople meet in a remote spot on this cluttered isle it can sometimes feel as though there is an element of magic at work: shades of the film Field of Dreams, in which a farmer creates a baseball field in a corn-field and the ghosts of all the greats arrive to play. Kevin Costner portrays the farmer and delivers the famous line “If you build it, they will come” with maximum smoulder. I can’t vouch for ghosts on James Pound’s last day hunting the Newcastle and District Beagles (NDB) but there is no doubt that he has built something in his 14 seasons as huntsman and, as a result, the people had come. In this case to a windswept grouse moor in north Northumberland: one of Pound’s favourite Meets…

TO SEASONED salmon anglers, the Helmsdale is a river that needs no introduction. However, in case its story has passed you by, this Sutherland river flows for 21 miles from its beginnings in three lochs – Badanloch, nan Clàr and Rimsdale – through the vast open blanket bog of the Flow Country before meandering its way to the east coast, where it meets the North Sea at the town of Helmsdale itself. From source to sea, the Helmsdale is a true jewel among salmon rivers with almost unrivalled potential to produce remarkable fishing experiences. Yet it is also a river that places considerable demands on the angler if they are to make the most of that potential: demands that are both technical and physical. The terrain itself is often challenging,…

THIS MONTH’S test spotlights a Sako 90 Hunter Stainless bolt-action rifle imported by GMK. The 90 was launched last year in a range of styles (seven are listed by GMK) and calibre options from .22-250 to .300 Winchester Magnum in various action lengths. Our test gun is stainless steel .308 with a conventional wooden stock incorporating a slightly stepped Monte-Carlo comb and restrained cheekpiece (Sako also offers carbon-fibre and fibreglass stock options). It weighs in at 7¼lb without telescopic sight, so around 81/2lb to 9lb ‘on the hill’ with a medium-sized scope fitted. First impressions are good. It is a clean-looking, modern design retaining classical form and shapes, with a well-sized grip that has a slight right-hand palm swell (left-handed 90s are available). The relatively slender forestock is well proportioned…

SOMETIMES the whole is worth more than the sum of its parts, and the collection of the Royal Armouries holds an excellent illustration of this adage in the form of a cased pair of flintlock pistols signed by Franz Ulrich and dating from about 1810. Ulrich’s name can be found on many sets of pistols but few are so finely embellished, or so completely accompanied by similarly adorned accessories, as this exquisite pair. The pistols themselves are handsomely decorated in the Empire style of the early 19th century. Their 50-bore octagonal hook-breech barrels are heavily chiselled on the visible surfaces and filled in with a thin, pale-gold paint, which gives a crisp edge to the pattern of coarse scrollwork running along each flat. The mounts are also coloured gold, the…

BESPOKE HOUSE LIGHT BOXES ELE GRAFTON A mixed-media artist fascinated by paper, Ele Grafton also creates wonderful illuminated buildings. Each commission is a scale rendering of the architecture that can be made from significant documents, sheet music or maps to make the finished piece even more personal. Painstakingly crafted by hand in Somerset. Price: bespoke house commissions from £1,400 Email: elegrafton@gmail.com elegrafton.com SHEARLING THROWS BATTERBURY Toscana fleece is popular in fashion design with its long, fine filaments and soft hide. Offcuts from design houses are carefully sewn together to create cosy throws and cushions. Perfect to soften the interminable wait for spring. Price: throws £500 to £1,500, cushions from £120 with pad Tel: 01428 707370 batterbury.co.uk TARTAN TILES PETRA PALUMBO Petra Palumbo’s classic Delft tiles are having a Highland fling…

The GWCT has launched a scheme aimed at boosting numbers of threatened wading birds while also encouraging terns to return to a historically important breeding site along the Solent coastline. Gravelly Shores will create new protected coastal vegetated shingle habitat on the Beaulieu estate in the New Forest. The estate is already home to 50% of the Solent region’s breeding population of ringed plover [pictured, above] and is a key site for breeding oystercatchers. Mike Short from the GWCT, who will lead the two-year project, says: “While it is right that habitat loss and disturbance can put immense pressure on nesting birds, so can high levels of predation. Using nest cameras, we have previously documented high losses of ringed-plover and oystercatcher clutches to foxes, crows and gulls.”…

NatureScot could have more influence over how Scottish estates are run under new plans proposed by ministers. The Deer Management Nature Restoration Order (DMNRO) may see private estates facing compulsory deer culls should NatureScot decide that it would help nature restoration. Currently officials have limited powers to impose culls to prevent, remedy and mitigate against the damage caused by deer to trees and other plant life. However, the DMNRO could be enforced where there are ‘significant gains to be made through meeting biodiversity and climate objectives through deer management’. BASC director for Scotland Peter Clark believes the orders raise concerns, given that they “would allow NatureScot to enter land under legally enforceable direction to conduct deer management activities where it deems necessary”. A spokesman for NatureScot said: “We welcome the…

BY THE second quarter of the 18th century in Europe the matchlock gun had all but vanished and the wheellock was retained mainly for the ignition of heavy rifles used in Germany and Austria. Except for the Mediterranean area, the flintlock was in almost universal use, being the French type of plain, uncomplicated construction in which the spark necessary to ignite the priming powder was obtained from a piece of sharpened flint striking a steel immediately over the priming pan. The barrels, which at the beginning of the 1700s had seldom been less than 48 inches, were steadily reduced to 42 and 40 inches as gunmakers began to find that the reduction made no difference to performance but increased a gun’s manoeuvrability. By the end of the century a length…

THE SETTER OWNER Arthur is a hopeless romantic with a fondness for old things. No stiff new tweeds here: frays are a badge of honour to him. Like many setter owners, he is quietly spoken and gives his dogs carefully considered names: Flintlock, Atticus, Persephone. The ‘pick a name you’d not be embarrassed to say in public’ rule doesn’t apply because those with setters know there’s no point calling their dogs; they won’t come back anyway. Some people don’t even realise Arthur has dogs because they are usually so far away from him. Whether by genetics or the miles he chases across country in pursuit, Arthur is lean and leggy. He strides across hillsides with the same elegance as his canine charges and will forgive them anything. THE COCKER SPANIEL…

XAVIER BRAY, the charismatic director of The Wallace Collection museum in London, believes “you can tell a lot about someone’s profile photo on WhatsApp”. Having not considered this before, I click on mine; it is of my Italian greyhound cross/whippety thing sneaking a moment at the head of my bed. His is a pug portrait by Goya, a nod to his expertise in Spanish art and his two pugs, Bluebell and Winston, who are familiar sights in his office. We’re both clearly dog lovers but he has the analytical and sociological mind of someone used to looking at canine and human portraits, hence him spotting that the modern-day version can invariably end up on our phones and on our walls, reflecting our personalities as canine depictions always have done. It…

PUPPY or rescue dog? It’s a tough question but one that should be given careful consideration if you are looking for a canine companion. A friend who was recently widowed lost her dog not long after her husband. From what I gather, she has no plans to replace her husband but would dearly love another dog. Initially she thought she would like a puppy, and even went as far as putting a deposit on one. Fortunately, perhaps, she decided against it. Though she is a fit and active 70-year-old, did she really have the energy for a puppy? She reluctantly came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be fair on the puppy to take one on, so she is now scrutinising sites such as Spaniel Aid (spanielaid.co.uk) to try to…

AT THE end of a British winter it is hard to associate our dogs and horses with glamour, so the work of Georgea Blakey is like a ray of sunshine beaming on to the general bog of muddy dog and wet tweed. Perhaps this is because Blakey has spent much of her time in the jet-set polo-playing world, which seems to revolve around perpetual summer. Brought up as a horse-mad child in a family with numerous dogs, Blakey remembers: “I really wanted to take a year out and travel. I loved polo, so I went to the polo grounds and did drawings of the patrons’ ponies for £100 each. Pretty soon I had £600, which was what I needed to buy a ticket to Argentina. So there I was, only…

THERE can be few more immediately recognisable book jackets than that of The Concise British Flora in Colour, a book first published in 1965 (with later editions) which, I’m guessing, can be found on the bookshelves of many a Field reader. The jacket consists of one of the plates of watercolours in the book, depicting all the rose species to be found in Britain in the 20th century. Their names are so evocative: Rosa rubiginosa, which is Shakespeare’s ‘sweet eglantine’; Rosa pimpinellifolia, the burnet rose, found by the coast; and Rosa sherardii, the northern downy rose, most common in Scotland and the north of England. The appeal of the book jacket lies also in the way the illustrations are laid out on the page, suggesting that whoever painted them had…

THERE is always much waging of war against rabbits long after the season for killing game is finished. On many shootings nowadays there are not enough rabbits to be worth troubling about while game is in season and not enough, fortunately, from one point of view, to do any damage to speak of during the winter. This modern scarcity of rabbits allows the attention of guns, keepers and beaters to be concentrated with wholehearted concern on the securing of veteran birds. Yet there come those gladsome bye-days at nothing else but rabbits, which, though at present few enough, must be got down to fewer still, lest in a month or two they become far too many. Arithmetic cannot make rabbits less prolific than they are and, besides, they usually multiply…